Karen (Frosty the Snowman)
Karen is one of the kids who built Frosty the Snowman in the Rankin/Bass special of the same name. She, along with Hocus Pocus the rabbit, accompanies Frosty on his journey to the North Pole. She was the only one of the kids who was named in the special. Despite her prominent role in the original special, Karen was oddly absent from the sequel, Frosty's Winter Wonderland. Karen first appears when her class is supposed to be entertained by Professor Hinkle, but when his act proves to be a flop, Karen and her classmates go outside to build a snowman instead. Once they do, they try to think of good names until Karen suggests "Frosty" as the name and her classmates agree with her. It is then that thanks to Hinkle's rabbit assistant, Hocus Pocus, that they acquire Hinkle's magic hat, which brings Frosty to life. After Hinkle temporarily takes his hat back and Hocus returns it to the kids to reanimate Frosty, Frosty decides he needs to find colder weather as with the temperature rising, he is in danger of melting. The kids suggest the North Pole, and escort Frosty as they march through town to the train station, with Karen explaining Frosty's situation to the police officer who stops them along the way. Unfortunately, with no money for tickets, Frosty instead chooses to stow away in the refrigeration car of a small freight train, with Karen and Hocus accompanying him to the North Pole, unaware that Hinkle is after them to get his hat back. However, due to the cold temperature setting in the car, Karen starts to shiver, despite all her winter clothing she is wearing, and Frosty decides to leave the train to find somewhere for Karen to warm up, which works when the train pulls into a siding to allow a passenger train to pass, and allow them to unknowingly escape Hinkle again. After Hocus rallies the forest animals to build Karen a fire, while Hocus leaves to find Santa Claus, Hinkle ambushes Karen and puts out her campfire, forcing her and Frosty to belly-slide down a hill to where they find a greenhouse growing Christmas poinsettias, where Frosty takes Karen inside to warm up, while he can, as he put it, lose a few pounds himself before stepping back outside, but Hinkle catches up and closes the door, trapping Frosty and Karen inside. By the time Santa and Hocus find the greenhouse, they are too late. Frosty has melted, and Karen is heartbroken over her friend's demise. However, Santa reveals that Frosty was made from Christmas snow, and all Frosty needed to be revived was a cold, December wind, which Santa lets into the greenhouse, picking up Frosty's melted remains, and restoring him to his inanimate form. Before Hocus can add the magic hat back on, Hinkle again demands his hat back as Hocus seeks Karen for protection as Santa confronts Hinkle and threatens to take him off the Nice List for life if he laid so much as another finger on the hat's brim. However, Santa offers Hinkle a compromise: If he returns home and writes his apologies repeatedly several hundred times over, Santa would reconsider removing Hinkle from the Nice List and still give him a gift on Christmas morning. Moved to repentance at Santa's showing of mercy, Hinkle leaves to do just that, and Santa restores Frosty to life, much to Karen's joy. However, Santa has to take Frosty back to the North Pole with him, but first takes Karen back home where Karen hated to part with Frosty, but was assured that Frosty would return next Christmas to lead Karen and her classmates in another parade. Karen waves goodbye as Frosty and Santa return to the North Pole, and come next year, Karen parades proudly behind Frosty through the streets until they reach Santa's sleigh and Frosty takes his leave to return north. Karen and her classmates chase down Santa's sleigh until it gets airborne, then wave goodbye together as Frosty assures them they will see him again on Christmas Day. Category:Characters Category:Rankin/Bass characters